Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Legend
After watching the tournament, Fan Shiyan of the White Tiger Sect and Shi Huai’an of the Black Tortoise Sect immediately returned to their respective schools’ headquarters in Jinmen.
Although the Four Saints Sect was considered the strongest lineage of Beast Form Fist in the Divine Land, the actual strength of each constituent school varied greatly.
Among these four schools, the Cyan Dragon Sect was the most mysterious. Each generation had only two or three disciples who lived as recluses in remote mountains and swamps, rarely involving themselves in worldly affairs. The last time its members had appeared was during the great war ten years ago that marked the fall of the Qian Dynasty.
The Vermilion Bird Sect, on the other hand, was currently the most powerful. At the zenith of its power, it controlled the Phoenix Army, one of the eight great Warlords of the Divine Land. Stationed in the Su Sea and Shanghai regions, its strength ranked among the top even within the eight Warlords.
In contrast, the White Tiger Sect and the Black Tortoise Sect were more than a step behind. These two schools were originally extremely powerful, but their lineages had suffered numerous calamities over the years. As a result, their teachings were no longer complete, with many parts missing, and their strength had declined significantly.
Nevertheless, both sects remained at the apex of the Divine Land’s Martial Arts Realm. They had seized the opportunity of Jinmen’s rise, establishing a foothold early on. Now, they held considerable influence in both Jinmen and the Martial Arts Association.
Therefore, unlike other schools, the White Tiger and Black Tortoise Sects had core upper-echelon members overseeing their interests in Jinmen—their so-called school Elders.
Those worthy of this title were all veteran powerhouses from the two sects, possessing immense strength and rich experience in the Martial Dao. Their Combat Realms were beyond what any youth could match, and they were even a cut above the key figures of the major Warlords. They were the ones truly in charge of the two sects’ operations in Jinmen.
Upon returning to the headquarters, Shi Huai’an immediately requested an audience with the Elder who oversaw their operations in Jinmen.
In an antique-style study, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties stood dressed in black robes. He was tall and powerfully built, with a messy shock of hair, thick eyebrows, and a dense beard covering his face. His torso was much thicker than an average person’s, and from a distance, he projected an unshakeable stability, like a mountain peak.
At that moment, the man was practicing calligraphy in his study, though his method was astonishing, to say the least.
In the center of the study, a square sheet of Xuan paper was laid out on the floor. The Black Tortoise Sect Elder stood in the room, holding a massive, dark, and profound-looking metal block that hung from his hand. It was over half as tall as a person and looked incredibly heavy; a visual estimate would place its weight at no less than that of a normal adult man.
Affixed to the end of the metal block was a small-character calligraphy brush with a tip no longer than two centimeters. The man was using this bizarrely heavy brush to write in regular script on the Xuan paper.
He wasn’t writing large characters, but tiny, fly-head-sized ones. They were so dense that an ordinary person would feel their eyes grow tired and their head spin just from reading a single page.
Yet this man, holding a brush weighing over a hundred jin, wore a calm expression. With the slightest turn of his wrist, he exquisitely channeled his strength through the iron block, down to the brush tip of less than two centimeters, writing one neat, fly-head-sized character after another.
Eyesight! Strength! Control! State of mind!
Such a display of Force manipulation was simply incredible.
Imagine if that hundred-jin brush were replaced with a weapon of the same weight. In this man’s hands, as it flashed through the air, his Force would permeate to its very tip, granting him enough precision to slice a flying insect. The thought alone was terrifying.
Even Shi Huai’an couldn’t help but reveal a trace of admiration in his eyes every time he witnessed this scene.
Perhaps in terms of his Training Method realm and physical strength, the gap between him and the Elder was not that large. However, when it came to the exquisite refinement of his Force and the miraculous control he had over his body, he was still a long way from the Elder’s level.
For that reason, he knew he would be no match for the Elder.
The Martial Dao had never been just a contest of physical ability. The mind’s control over the body was an equally crucial element—one that could even allow the weak to overcome the strong and create miracles.
He couldn’t help but think back to the tournament match from that evening. At his level, he could naturally see that there was a considerable gap between Zhao Xuanqi’s Training Method and Wu Yin’s. And yet, in the end, it was Zhao Xuanqi who had won.
While this was certainly due to various reasons, such as his extremely strong physical foundation and his terrifying Secret Technique, the most important factor was the frightening skill he displayed in that final strike.
’Gang Qi Transformation... that isn’t something one can achieve through physical ability alone.’
Seeing Shi Huai’an enter the study, the Black Tortoise Sect Elder, Xu Ji, stopped his brush and hung up the heavy instrument. He smiled and said, "Huai’an, you’re here? I heard you went to watch the Western Border Wu Family’s tournament match tonight. What was the outcome?"
"Elder Xu, I came to see you precisely because of this matter," Shi Huai’an said with a grave expression.
"Oh? Sit and talk."
Xu Ji was slightly surprised. The two of them sat down at the desk, and Shi Huai’an recounted the details of that night’s tournament match.
"Walking Beast Form, Flying Bird Form, breathing techniques and Divine Intent similar to our Black Tortoise Sect’s? A Secret Technique with unimaginably powerful effects? And an Exotic Beast Form that transcends ordinary Beast Forms, one that doesn’t exist in this world?"
Hearing Shi Huai’an’s description, Xu Ji narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That’s right. Forms of Rare Beasts and Exotic Beasts that surpass ordinary Beast Forms are not unheard of in our Four Saints Sect. But I have truly never seen or heard of the multiple Beast Forms this person displayed. In particular, the Beast Form and aura from his final strike surpassed any I have ever witnessed. I even suspect that the Beast Form Boxing Technique he has inherited is superior to our Four Saints Sect’s own Secret Transmissions," Shi Huai’an said in a heavy tone.
"Hundred Beasts Fist... Hundred Beasts Fist... Could that legendary Fist Technique truly have appeared in the world?" Xu Ji muttered to himself.
"Does that legendary Fist Technique really exist?" Shi Huai’an couldn’t help but ask.
"Others might think it’s just a legend, but we of the Four Saints Sect know that this Fist Technique does indeed exist."
"In the age of the Wilderness, at the dawn of the Divine Land’s civilization, our ancestors simulated the forms of wild beasts to survive the harsh environment, creating the very first Martial Arts Secret Transmission: the Beast Form Fist. In that era, a grandmaster of Beast Form Fist appeared. With unimaginable spirit, he broke through the limits of what humans could achieve."
"This person was the first existence in recorded history to reach the realm of a Divine General. He gathered the many essences of Beast Form Fist and created a Fist Technique that surpassed all others. Its Beast Forms transcended all real-world animals, elevating them to the level of Divine Beasts. It is said that this Fist Technique allows one to transform between any Beast Form at will and even combine them arbitrarily to create Exotic Beast Forms that defy reality."
"The ancestor of our Four Saints Sect was a disciple of this man. But due to his limited talent, he was unable to grasp the full essence of that Fist Technique. He only managed to comprehend parts of its Divine Intent, which were then passed down to become the Four Saints Sect. Legend has it that if the fist techniques of the four sects are unified and perfectly fused, the mysteries of that original Fist Technique can be recreated, allowing one to master the Profound Technique of the Holy Beasts. It seems that woman from the Vermilion Bird Sect is about to reach that stage, which is why she dares to call herself the ’Phoenix’."
"This matter is of the utmost importance. If this person’s Fist Technique is truly related to that legendary one, it might be able to complete the missing parts of our Black Tortoise Sect’s Secret Transmission. This concerns the very foundation of the Black Tortoise Sect and must be taken seriously. For now, do not alert him. Use all our connections in secret, spare no expense, and investigate everything about this Zhao Xuanqi—his origins, where his Secret Transmission came from, his entire life story—we must find out everything!!"
"I will contact the White Tiger Sect Elder at once. Our two sects are branches of the same tree now; we should handle this matter together," Xu Ji said, his expression extremely solemn.
